Saturday, May 26, 2012
Pre-School
I cannot believe I am writing about this but it seems the right time to research pre-schools for Asha. She will not actually go till Fall 2013 because she will only be 22 months in the fall of this year. So by the time she goes to pre-school, she will be around 2 years and 10 months. Is this too late?
I have so many questions about pre-school. I have been looking at the ones around here and some cost almost $7000 for the year (5 days/week, 2.5 hours/day). This seems like an awful lot of money. On top of that, does she really need to go every day or is 2-3 days/week a better option? Is the Montessori method the best? Should we choose a pre-school that feeds into the kindergarten she will be attending? Is that more important than the type of education she gets there?
How did you make (or plan to make) your pre-school decisions? At what age would you send your baby? How much is too much to pay? This is all happening too fast!!!
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5 comments:
Yikes, I haven't even thought about it, lol! I always said I wouldn't do preschool. Not all children NEED it, honestly. That said, if mine seem to need some structure, I would look into a part time program - like 2 or 3 hours a few days a week. I know I would enjoy the time to get things done:). But, if it cost more than I really wanted to pay, I wouldn't push it. Hope that helps!
Nitu, we definitely need to catch up. I am still in the midst of unpacking and some other craziness.
I was really committed to a Waldorf education which is another philosophy that is often compared to Montessori but now due to some of T1's challenges with eating and my disinclination in making daily long drives, I will probably send him to the Montessori. He is starting this week. If it goes well, I'm keeping him there. I don't think you have to do Montessori. We have five montessoris in town and not all of them are all that great. You can find good schools outside of it. You have to think about what you want Asha to get out of it and find a school that matches your philosophy. Also, each kid is different and their individual needs may require you to find a school that matches their personality. I'm sending T1 five half days because the school doesn't have 2 or 3 day options. I would prefer 3. I'm not ready for him to be gone every day. Again, that depends on te kid. I think kids who are more independent would do better at 5 days.
Talk soon!
We just went through this last fall and enrolled Andrew in a preschool starting this August. Due to/based on our work schedules we are doing 3 full days a week (it is preschool in the AM and daycare in the PM). I liked the idea of Montessori but we found a school that we really liked that was a lot closer/more convenient, and that just counts for a lot to me.
There are a lot of schools around here that only have 1/2 day options, and that wasn't a possibility for us, so that eliminated a lot of options right off the bat. Maybe you can send Asha to, say, 2 full days as opposed to 4-5 1/2 days, and that might let you get more work done on the days she's there? As a ballpark figure I think we'll be paying $700/month for 3 full days a week.
I am really happy with the preschool we chose and their approach and my feeling is we'll see how he does this first year, and if it doesn't seem like a good fit, we'll re-evaluate next year. I kind of feel like you just don't really know how good a fit the school will be for your child until they're there. It's smart to look now though... if you find one you like, why not sign her up and secure the spot - when we looked last fall already 1/2 the spots in the 2 1/2 year old class were taken.
Good luck!
Oh, about the price, we are paying $360 a month for five half days. The other school i was considering had longer half days but three half days would cost over $400. In Lawrence, this is considered the extremely high end I think. It depends on how comfortable you are paying a lot. Some people just don't think it's important and as long as they are in a loving environment, that's great.
We paid $283/month total for two kids for two half days. I don't think kids necessarily need preschool, so I wasn't too concerned about a particular educational method. My advice is 1) solicit recommendations from friends in the area and 2) arrange to visit the schools. Ihe right school will emerge. Jill
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